Key Witness (1947 film)

Key Witness
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	D. Ross Lederman
Produced by	Rudolph C. Flothow
Screenplay by	Edward Bock
Story by	J. Donald Wilson
Starring	John Beal Trudy Marshall Jimmy Lloyd Helen Mowery
Music by	Mischa Bakaleinikoff
Cinematography	Philip Tannura
Edited by	Dwight Caldwell
Production company	Columbia Pictures
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release dates	October 9, 1947 (1947-10-09) (United States)
Running time	67 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Key Witness is a 1947 American thriller film noir directed by D. Ross Lederman and featuring John Beal, Trudy Marshall, Jimmy Lloyd and Helen Mowery.^[1]

Plot

A man runs away to avoid suspicion of murder and ends up in more trouble.

Cast

• John Beal as Milton Higby
• Trudy Marshall as Marge Andrews
• Jimmy Lloyd as Larry Summers
• Helen Mowery as Sally Guthrie
• Wilton Graff as Albert Loring
• Barbara Read as Martha Higby
• Charles Trowbridge as John Ballin
• Harry Hayden as Custer Bidwell
• William Newell as Smiley
• Selmer Jackson as Edward Clemmons
• Robert Williams as Officer Johnson

Reception

Critical response

When the film was released in 1947, critic Bosley Crowther, was sly in his negative review, "The moral of Key Witness, which came to the Rialto yesterday, it says, is that 'no man can escape trouble by trying to run away from it.' This wisdom is demonstrated in the adventures of a desperate young man who attempts to get out of one involvement by changing his identity—and runs into others thereby ... There might also be drawn this moral from the evidence presented here: you can't often be sure of entertainment from that which is claimed to be."^[2]

References

External links

• Key Witness at the American Film Institute Catalog
• Key Witness at the Internet Movie Database
• Key Witness at AllMovie
• Key Witness at the TCM Movie Database
• Key Witness information site and DVD review at DVD Beaver (includes images)
• Key Witness titles and film scene on YouTube